Will the Wise
by The Lost Samurai
Summary: The Mind Flayer's possession of Will had lasting effects that no one could have foreseen. For better or for worse, he was irreversibly involved in all this, and sooner or later, he'd have to face that uncompromising truth. And if he had to leave the old, scared, fragile Will behind? Well, stranger things have happened. A Will-centric story about loyalty, perseverance, and wisdom.
1. The Spy

Summary: The Mind Flayer's possession of Will had lasting effects that no one could have foreseen. For better or for worse, he was irreversibly involved in all this, and sooner or later, he'd have to face that uncompromising truth. And if he had to leave the old, scared, fragile Will behind? Well, stranger things have happened. A Will-centric story about loyalty, perseverance, and wisdom.

So...here I am. With a new story. Yes, I know. What the hell am I thinking? But I've been binge watching Stranger Things, and once this idea popped into my head, I just couldn't resist. So here we are.

Disclaimer: I don't own Stranger Things.

* * *

Chapter 1: The Spy

"I'm sorry," Will stammered. "He made me do it."

His mom looked at him with horrified eyes, asking what he meant. Mike was the first to understand, and he ran off to try and warn Hopper.

It was too late though.

He had killed them. Those soldiers were dead because of _him_. Because he was too scared, too fragile. Too weak to resist as the Shadow Monster gripped his mind and body with its dark, icy tendrils and spoke through his mouth. Telling the others that Will knew its weakness, leading them to a plan that was doomed to fail by forcing words from his mouth as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

He'd been powerless to stop it. But that wasn't even the most terrifying thing. Even now, when its grip on him had slackened, Will knew the reprieve was only temporary. At any time it could take him back into its cold fingers and manipulate him as it saw fit. He was its pawn. A liability.

And Mike, always the reliable one, had caught onto it first. His best friend. He didn't know whether to be relieved or ashamed. He settled for both.

"We need to make Will sleep," Mike said, the urgency evident in his tone.

"What?" his mom asked, disbelieving.

"He's a spy. If he knows where we are, so does the Shadow Monster."

"He's lying!" The Shadow Monster shouted, instantly seizing control of Will again.

"He killed those soldiers. He'll kill us too!"

"He's _lying!_" The Shadow Monster continued to force the protests out from his throat, and even if Will _could_ resist the words, he didn't know if he could bring himself to. He _wanted_ it to be a lie. They were his friends! His family! He wouldn't do that to them! Ever!

But he knew it was the truth. He'd been helpless before a single Demogorgon, forced to run and hide and wait for rescue. And now he was being possessed by its master, and he was supposed to stay strong? To be Will the Wise?

He couldn't even spy correctly! Mike had entrusted him with one mission: to gain intel on the otherworldly being that was terrorizing him and everyone he cared about. He'd accepted, thinking that he could finally be good for something after worrying everyone the previous year. But reality was unforgiving. He couldn't even do that right. He'd let Mike down.

As the Shadow Monster continued shouting denials from his mouth, his mom finally saw through its act, and sedated him. Will felt immense relief as his eyes fluttered closed and his word went dark.

* * *

He awoke to a horrible smell. His head snapped up, eyes wide, and he looked around. He saw Mike, his mom, Jonathan, and Hopper. A bright light was shining in his eyes. It didn't take him long to realize he was tied to a chair.

"What? What is this? Why am I tied up?" he asked. As his mom assured him that they just wanted to talk, his mouth opened without his input.

"Where am I!?" It was the Shadow Monster speaking now. Will prayed they wouldn't answer. It was a good thing that he himself didn't know either. Then he realized that was probably their plan. Smart.

Hopper pulled out the sketch he'd drawn of it, asking if he recognized it, and he felt as _it_ shook his head.

Will felt confused. Why was the Shadow Monster being so...unconvincing now? Everyone in the room knew that Will drew that picture. Who did it think it was fooling? If it wanted to keep the act up, why didn't it just admit to recognizing the sketch? It was almost as if...

Will would have gasped at the sudden realization, had the Shadow Monster let him.

_It doesn't have access to my memories._

It explained so much. Why it had only answered some of the questions they had asked it. At the time, his mom and the doctors had thought it was just a case of amnesia. But Will knew better. That had been the Shadow Monster speaking, not Will, and the Shadow Monster couldn't answer all their questions because it didn't know everything about him.

A well of hope surged within him as his mind connected the dots. Even if it couldn't access his memories, it would still be able to pull of a better act than this if it could access his surface thoughts. Which meant it _couldn't do that either_.

The possession wasn't as complete as he'd thought. All it had, at least right now, were his senses. And if his senses weren't enough to tell _it_ what it needed to know...then _it_ would be in the dark.

A plan started to form in Will's mind. He could get a message across. He knew he could. But not right this second. Right now, he couldn't even move unless the Shadow Monster willed it.

His mom sat down across from him. "Do you know what March 22nd is?" she asked, and he listened, trying to think of a way to swing things to their advantage. "It's your birthday," she continued, and as she began to tell the story of the rainbow ship he drew when he was eight, he felt the Shadow Monster's grip recede from him. Will's heart pounded in his chest. Perhaps it thought that letting Will interact with his mom would lower her suspicions. Perhaps it was confident that it could seize control again should he begin to say anything it didn't want him to.

But it had just made a huge mistake.

It thought he was weak? Helpless? Scared? He'd prove it _wrong_.

As Jonathan and Mike both shared their stories, following his mom's lead, he racked his brain for a way to convey his message. He couldn't just say it outright. The Shadow Monster would stop him. But what if there was another way? A method of communication that for all its ancient, otherworldly knowledge, the Shadow Monster wasn't familiar with?

"I saw you on the swings, and you were alone too," Mike said, relaying his story of how they met. "You were just swinging by yourself. And I just walked up to you and...I asked. I asked if you wanted to be my friend, and...you said yes. It was the best thing I've ever done."

Tears rolled down his cheeks. _It's not just you, Mike. I don't know what I'd have done if we didn't meet that day._

And he didn't know what he'd do if he continued to be unworthy of his best friend's faith. Mike would get his spy. He'd make sure of it.

As his mom begged him to talk to them, he gained control of his trembling. He had to be strong. He _would_ be strong.

"Let me go," he said again, this time of his own accord. He saw the disappointment and resignation on their faces, but it was necessary. It would throw the Shadow Monster off, divert its attention, make it wonder why Will was doing its job for it now. Let it wonder.

He began rapidly tapping the side of the chair with his fingers. The action, to the untrained eye, was meaningless, easily confusable with the nervous fidgeting of a child with trauma.

He felt triumph flood through him as Hopper's eyes snapped toward his fingers, a sharp, knowing gleam in them.

To a human who knew morse code, it was so much more.

And so it began. Everyone started sharing their stories, and Will listened, tapping his fingers against the chair, slowly but surely sending his message. As far as he knew, _it_ was none the wiser.

Finally, he spelled out the words fully. _C-L-O-S-E G-A-T-E._

He could only hope they'd understand.

Then a phone rang, and Will's head snapped towards the source, because he _recognized_ that ringing—

And that was _his_ mistake. _It_ must have realized from his reaction that the sound meant something to him, and suddenly he felt a searing headache accompanied by a familiar, bone-deep chill. It was trying to dig deeper, to penetrate his thoughts.

He wouldn't let it! He emptied his mind, thinking of anything other than what that ring meant. Maybe if he didn't think about it, the Shadow Monster wouldn't find out.

But in telling himself not to think about it, he had thought about it. And now he was sure, beyond all doubt, that _it_ knew.

He was helpless even to warn them, because it had seized control of him again. Luckily, they caught on, and his mom sedated him.

His last thought as he drifted into the darkness was that he had failed.


	2. Newfound Strength

Chapter 2: Newfound Strength

When Will awoke next, restrained to a bed, the Shadow Monster took control right away. It began thrashing, demanding to be let go, and for once, Will couldn't help but agree with the sentiment.

His mom, Jonathan and Nancy were apparently trying to burn its presence from Will's body. Which wasn't exactly a bad idea, save for the fact that it _hurt_. God, it hurt so much! He felt like he was slowly burning away from the inside. The Shadow Monster said as much, repeating over and over how much it hurt, hoping his family would feel sympathy for Will and stop.

When his mom ignored it and turned up the heat, face set in determination, Will didn't know whether he should laugh or cry. The pain got worse, and worse, and worse still, and if _it_ didn't have control right now, Will himself would have been begging for them to stop.

But all he could do was lie there, trapped inside his own body, as the Shadow Monster struggled to free itself.

He was so tired of being _weak! _All of his friends were out there fighting, for him and for the sake of the world. Hell, El had saved them all last year! And yet here he was, the only one not helping, the only one being a burden. He was so, so fed up with it that he felt like screaming.

As if responding to his thoughts, an otherworldly strength suddenly filled his body. He could feel it coursing through his veins, fueling him with undiluted power and hatred. Wasn't this the height of irony? The moment he had hoped for strength, that strength had filled him. Only it wasn't his.

It was the Shadow Monster's.

His right arm broke free from its restraint, and his hand found its way around his mom's throat.

_No. No no no no no._

She grabbed his hand by reflex as she gasped for breath, powerless to remove his iron grip. Jonathan also grabbed his arm, trying and failing to stop him from choking the life out of their mom. Nancy thought fast, grabbing a hot iron pole and attempting to press it to Will's skin.

Will held a brief hope that it might work, and wasn't _that_ sad, that he'd reached the point of hoping to get burned. But the Shadow Monster saw through his eyes what she was doing, and Will's other hand broke free as well.

His muscles contracting against his will, he watched helplessly as his fist impacted with Nancy's stomach. The force of the blow threw her against the wall, and she sank to the floor with a gasp.

His mom's face was turning red.

_NO!_

He thought back to the story she had told him earlier, of bringing his drawing to work just to show it off. How she'd been so proud.

She was _not_ going to die! Especially not by his own hands!

As soon as the memory ran through his mind, filling him with fiery determination, Will felt the Shadow Monster's grip on him recede, just the slightest bit. He grasped the leverage with all he had.

Slowly, his fingers started to open from around his mom's throat. It was miniscule motion, but enough so that she could breathe in small amounts of air. That minor success fueled his hope though. It was working!

He thought of other memories, ones that defined who he was. Meeting Dustin and Lucas. Playing D&D in the basement. Listening to The Clash as Jonathan told him he shouldn't pretend to be something he wasn't. Meeting Mike on the swings that day in kindergarten.

His fingers continued to loosen, and he could feel control returning to his limbs.

_Come on, Will. Be strong. _

His hand unclenched, and his mom fell, holding her throat and inhaling lungfuls of air.

_Be like Mike. Like Jonathan. Like Mom._

He freed his legs effortlessly, the Shadow Monster's supernatural strength still filling him even as he wrestled control back from it. Jonathan and Nancy both stumbled back as he got to his feet, standing atop the bed. He ignored them both and turned toward the radiator they had set up.

_Be Will the Wise!_

He leapt off the bed and pressed his hands to the heater.

He screamed. It was pain like nothing he had felt before. But he didn't stop.

"_Get. Out. Of. Me!"_

He felt as the command was finally obeyed. The heat caused its grip on him to loosen further, and his own determination did the rest. His mouth opened as a black mist exited his body, swirling around above their heads as it grew in size. For a moment Will was terrified it would go for someone else, but the heat in the room was thankfully enough to deter it.

It fled from the cabin, the door barging open as it flew away into the night.

Will collapsed onto the floor and passed out.

* * *

He wasn't sure how much time went by, but he was guessing it wasn't long. When he came to, he was back on the bed, and his mom was gasping in joy. She wrapped his arms around him, and he returned the gesture.

_Finally over, _he thought, exhausted.

Only, that wasn't quite true. Jonathan grabbed his handheld radio and spoke. "Chief, are you there? Do you copy?"

He could hear Hopper's voice as he responded. "Yeah, I copy."

"Close it," Jonathan said, and Will snapped to attention.

"They're closing the gate?" he asked.

Jonathan turned to him, and only hesitated for a moment before replying. "Yeah, El's gonna close it."

Will got up and sat on the bed, his mom hovering over him like a hawk. "You had to wait until you could get that thing out of me," he said. It wasn't a question, but Jonathan nodded anyway.

Will sighed. Despite forcing the Shadow Monster out, he still felt useless. He should be out there, helping. Somehow. Any way he could.

Only, his mom would probably have an aneurism if he tried to leave right now, and he probably wouldn't get there in time to do anything. He closed his eyes, deciding to rest for a bit.

As his eyes closed though, he saw visions run through his mind. At first it terrified him, making him think that he was still connected to the Shadow Monster. But he couldn't feel it at all anymore.

Well no, that wasn't quite right. He could still feel it, just not inside of him. It was strange. He could only compare the feeling to when he'd been having his "episodes," before it had possessed him. He could feel its presence as keenly as he had back then. Only it wasn't in front of him now.

Trying to keep calm, he almost asked Jonathan or his mom if they could feel it too, but he didn't want to worry them. Instead, he focused on the visions in his head.

He could see the gate. He saw someone who could only be El, standing in front of it, holding one arm out as she tried to close it. Hopper guarded her with an assault rifle. At first she wasn't having any success, but then her expression became angry for some reason, and soon the gate began to close.

Will felt like cheering.

His joy didn't last long. Soon the horde of mini Demogorgons reached the gate, and started climbing the walls to get to them. He felt his heart constrict in fear.

Hopper noticed, and swore as he started shooting them down. All it did was slow them down though. They were too fast and too durable. Only El could take them down, but she was focused on closing the gate.

"Chief?" Jonathan asked, having heard his cursing over the radio. "Chief, do you copy? What's wrong?"

"The Demogorgons are after them," Will answered, eyes still closed. His mom, Nancy, and Jonathan all turned to him in surprise. "How do you know that?" Jonathan asked, sounding worried.

"It's ok," Will reassured him. "I'm still me."

"What? Will, what are you talking about?" his mom asked, sounding frantic. "What's happening?"

"I can help them," he said. He knew he could. He didn't know _how_ he knew, but he did. He took a deep breath, and reached out toward the Demogorgons. He watched as they all froze.

_Get away from them, _he commanded, and the moment he did, he felt the Shadow Monster's fury lash out at him.

Will gasped, sweat dripping down his forehead.

"Will? Will! Tell me what's wrong!" his mom shouted.

He didn't answer. He needed to focus. Hopper had shot down all the Demogorgons while they were frozen, but they were all still very much alive. Will's mind was under onslaught from the Shadow Monster. Its primordial rage lashed against him over and over again as they both fought for control. And _it_ was winning. Whatever this was, this—_hive mind?_—slowly but surely, it was regaining control from Will. He held out as best he could. He just needed a few more moments.

"Something's happening," Hopper's voice said over the radio. "They're acting strange."

It was true. Will could see in his mind's eye that the Demogorgons were shuffling around in uncertainty, struck with indecision as they were given conflicting orders.

_I can't do this much longer, _he realized. _It's too strong. I can't beat it. _But he didn't need to. He just needed to hold out until El closed the gate.

He watched in horror as the Shadow Monster sent one of its icy tendrils through the gate, trying to grab at El. El shouted in fury, holding up another arm, and a barrier formed in front of her to hold it back. Blood dripped down her nose and onto her lips as she strained to shove it back through the gate and close it at the same time.

Will took another deep breath and focused, reaching out towards the Shadow Monster this time. The very action terrified him. His heart beat loudly in his chest, and his breathing quickened.

But he had to do this. If he couldn't face this _thing_, then he would never move past what happened to him. He grit his teeth and he struck out against it. It recoiled, and he could feel its shock and rage as he grabbed ahold of it and helped El pull it back into the gate. Finally, after what felt like hours, they both shoved it back inside, and El closed the gate completely.

Will opened his eyes and fell back against the bed.

Soon after, Hopper spoke again over the radio. "She did it," he said, relief filling his voice.

But Jonathan, Nancy, and his mom just kept staring at Will, their jaws hanging open.

"Will," Jonathan said slowly. "What did you do?"


End file.
